Talking Tuesday: South Carolina coach Shane Beamer has put the Mississippi State loss behind him, and it’s on to (Cincinnati) Alabama (AUDIO)

The loss to Mississippi State last Saturday night in Columbia, after owning a 16-point lead, was a stinger for South Carolina. But as head coach Shane Beamer insisted on Tuesday at his weekly press conference, that’s life in the SEC. He and his players have discussed what went wrong against the Bulldogs over the final three quarters, have flushed it, and they are all now focused on this week’s game at 8th-ranked Alabama.

Alabama is coming off of a 50-36 win over Florida State. The Crimson Tide, with redshirt freshman sensation Keelon Russell directing an offense that’s averaging 47 points per game, also has wins over East Carolina and Kentucky. Russell passed for 330 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Seminoles.

As usual, Alabama is well-built up front on the offensive line and is averaging 209 yards per game on the ground. And it’s a typical strong Alabama defense that has given up just 53 rushing yards per game thus far.

The Gamecocks did a lot of good things on offense against Mississippi State, but they failed to capitalize on touchdown-scoring opportunities. Plus, quarterback LaNorris Sellers dampened an otherwise solid passing night by throwing two bad interceptions in a scoreless third quarter when the game turned against the Gamecocks.

The usual solid Gamecock defense also could not hold up their end of the bargain. Staked to a 16-0 lead, the defense could not control State quarterback Kamario Taylor, his stable of fleet receivers, and strong running back Fluff Bothwell.

Alabama leads the series with USC 15-3. The Tide won by seven in Columbia last year following a two-point win at Bryant-Denny in 2024. The Gamecocks’ last win in the series was in 2010 in Columbia.

Some Key Comments from Beamer

• Going into one of the great environments in college football with a tough opponent, thinks highly of Coach DeBoer.
• Respects the way Alabama plays offense; the defense looks very good, playing very well across the board, really good team, but that’s life in the SEC.
• Team has responded the right way in practice this week, pointed out to team that Alabama lost to FSU last season and made the CFP, so his team will be judged from this point moving forward.
• Sellers needs to play better, they all need to play better. Does not believe that Sellers is aiming the ball.
• They win as a team, they lose as a team, people outside the building don’t see what he sees in practice, they all need to be better and they compete in practice at quarterback every day.
• We’ve moved on, Saturday sucked, everybody can talk about comparisons to previous years, he doesn’t have to tell his players anything, it’s one loss in the SEC and you move on and get ready for the next one, that’s his message to his players.
• Defense wasn’t good enough, giving up 41 points is not the standard, had a heart-to-heart meeting with the defense on Sunday, not good enough when giving up a lead, and they’ve responded the right way.
• Based on the meetings he’s had this week and watching his players, he’s seen a lot of good signs about how his players have bounced back and are getting ready to play this week.

Shane Beamer Tuesday Press Conference Previewing Alabama